Avis quoted me €200 for an upgrade and then charged me nearly €700

I booked a car and upon pickup, decided to ask the Avis desk about upgrading to a better vehicle.

The salesperson told me the upgrade would cost around 200 €. I asked again. Then I asked again. And again. Every single time, I was told the same thing: the upgrade would only be about 200 €.

Because something already felt suspicious, my travel companion and I both made sure to confirm the amount multiple times before agreeing. The salesperson repeatedly reassured us that the extra charge was indeed around 200 €.

At the desk, they even put what appeared to be that agreed amount into the card terminal and handed me a paper receipt, making the whole thing look completely legitimate.

Later, I found out I had actually been charged nearly 700 €.

The most infuriating part is that the 200€ amount does appear in the contract, but it refers to something entirely different. So now they are hiding behind the paperwork and refusing to properly address what was clearly said and shown at the desk.

Yes, I understand the obvious argument: you signed the contract, so it is binding. But that completely misses the point. When a salesperson repeats one price several times, confirms it face to face, enters that amount at the payment terminal, and hands you a receipt that reinforces the same impression, this stops looking like a misunderstanding and starts looking a lot like a deliberate scam.

What makes this worse is that I already had doubts about the salesperson’s honesty, which is exactly why we double checked the amount multiple times before accepting. Even then, they still pushed this through.

It is honestly unbelievable that in 2026 a major rental company can still operate like this. Say one thing at the counter, charge something completely different, then hide behind the contract afterward and refuse to engage with the substance of the complaint.

My advice now is simple: do not let Avis “upgrade” you unless your dream holiday includes donating random hundreds of euros to a multinational scammer for the privilege of being lied to with confidence. Their pricing logic seems to work like a magic trick performed by a pickpocket: look over here at the 200 €, smile at the receipt, and by the time you check again, nearly 700 € has vanished from your account. If that is their idea of normal business practice, then Avis is not selling upgrades, they are selling expensive little lessons in why nobody should trust them. Take your money somewhere else and let some other company ruin your day honestly.